Congress approves a short-term funding bill to avoid a government shutdown

A day before the federal government is scheduled to run out of money, Congress on Thursday approved a short-term spending bill that will keep federal agencies running through Feb. 18, 2022.

The legislation now goes to President Biden, who needs to sign it before the midnight deadline on Friday to avoid any lapse in funding.

The Senate approved the measure Thursday night, after a threat from some conservative Republicans to delay the bill was averted. The senators aimed to deny funding for the Biden administration’s proposed vaccine-or-testing requirements for companies with at least 100 employees.